GOVERNMENT UNDER THE NEW CONSTITUTION

Virginia plantation owner Edmund Randolph presented the Virginia Plan, which proposed a bicameral legislature with the number of representatives in each house determined by proportional representation. The guiding force behind this plan was really James Madison, a 36-year-old scholar and member of the Virginia legislature, Madison also proposed a structure of three branches of government: judicial, legislative, and executive. The importance of the contributions of James Madison in the creation of the Constitution cannot be overemphasized; by proposing branches of government, Madison dispelled the fears held by many critics that in the new government too much power would be placed in the hands of a small number of leaders.

Smaller states, while favoring a strong central government, were opposed to Madison’s concept of a national legislature, fearing it would be dominated by the larger states. Smaller states supported the New Jersey Plan, which proposed a unicameral legislature where every state would receive one vote. This plan was equally unpopular with the larger states. Delegates from Connecticut finally proposed the plan that was ultimately adopted, the Great Compromise, This plan included an upper house, called the Senate, which would have two representatives per state, and a lower house, the House of Representatives, whose members would be elected by proportional representation.

Many representatives remained skeptical of a national government with massive powers. To diminish these fears, it was voted that the chief executive of the national government would be elected by an Electoral College, membership to which would be chosen by individual states. In addition, senators would be elected by state legislatures and not by the voters.